Sunday, August 26, 2012

Hey, it happens to everyone. Think of your best achievement, sports related or not. Whether you had a 240 bowling average or sold more nuts and bolts than the rest of your co-workers, how long did your streak last? Ten years? Thirteen? Didn't think so. There goes Tiger Woods, major-less since 2008, in disguise on weekends in important tournaments and not the imposing assassin we'd come to expect. Woods' nasty 76 today left him in a T38 slot at The Barclays, the first event in the FedUp Cup playoffs. Not a major, but since he blanked in the majors this year, you can be assured Woods would have loved to dip his hand into the annual money grab. Why you ask, I answer...

1. He's 36. Athletes don't perform at 36 they way they did at 26, period. Sure, an occasional aberration occurs, ala Nicklaus' 86 Masters, but by and large no.

2. Long injury history. Multiple knee procedures don't go away. Even if you're not in immediate pain, the effects of multiple surgeries affect how you perform. See NFL.

3. He's playing swing, not golf. I have no idea if Sean Foley is a great golf instructor other than to observe his work. His most famous pupil ain't getting it done. Dead left pulls, Balloon right misses and especially approach shots with short clubs are woefully inadequate. Throw in some rather pedestrian putting and there you are.

4. No more legendary short game. It wasn't that long ago when Woods was in a green side bunker or chipping you were surprised when he didn't make it. Lifestyle changes can affect the amount of time you spend on these parts of the game. Anyone married? I don't know that's the case, but his short game looks like it.

5. Mental aspect. Woods was always so single minded that his opponents always knew he was more talented and had out-prepared them. Deadly combo. That's not the case any longer. Public train wrecks like his take their toll. Just a fact.

So, there you go. Expect Woods to win tournaments, he's won three this year. Don't expect the domination seen before 2009.

You might want to take a look at what he's doing today. I'm not saying he can keep this pace up all weekend, but we've all been waiting for Tiger to put together a round like he did today in Boston, so he's still slightly better than the "average' pro golfer.

Very good post. The thing I think Tiger lost and will never get back is the fear other players had. He may be more skilled than most but they no longer fear him. That alone was once worth a handful of strokes.

Tiger will never have that intimidation factor that he used to have when he was at the peak of his game. But I do believe he is getting his game back into shape and will start winning majors beginning in 2013. He was still working on his latest swing changes but still managed to contend in several of the majors this year.

Dear Average Golfer, Interesting post, but how do you sleep at night? Do you not think this post will come back to bight you? That legendary short game will be back. Mentally, I fell like he's getting it back to where it was. Playing golf is not playing NFL, I don't see an NFL League for the over 50's. But Hey! Other than that....Keep up the good work. Love the blog!

Tiger, Wow what to say about Tiger! He is in-fact and with-out a fact, the FACE of Golf from the time He came onto the Tour, and still remains what countless pros regard as the measuring stick! No one can deny that He alone moves the Needle still to this day!

The idiot that started this.

Avid golfer. Been playing in earnest for the last 13 years. Trying to figure out how to play the 50+ rounds I used to play before a recent career change.Open to any and all ideas. A member of the Golf Clubmakers Association, (GCA). I enjoy building and repairing clubs. I like dogs a lot. Big dogs. Cats are for other people to like.
Favorite Quote- "There's no way out of
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